A well-balanced Selborne cricket side, under the guidance of head coach Ryan Koekemoer and master of cricket Murray Spence, will be fired up to make an impact at the Switch Schools SA20 national finals in Pretoria, starting on Wednesday.
Selborne produced polished performances in the qualifying rounds of the competition as they out-duelled their Eastern Cape rivals, referencing the Selborne Big Bash event as one of the reasons for their success.
“The players are put into an auction and bought by franchise owners,” Spence said. “I think that has rejuvenated cricket at Selborne and added a lot of excitement to the sport. I believe from that Big Bash weekend, the boys are really keen to get onto the park and showcase their skills in the weekend derbies.”
We have made sure the boys are happy on and off the field. The boys are not afraid to make mistakes, but rather they are comfortable expressing themselves and showcasing the skills they have
— Murray Spence, master of cricket at Selborne,
Another vital contribution to Selborne’s success has been a healthy team culture. Spence applauded the work put in by Koekemoer to ensure the team operated in a positive environment that encouraged learning and growth.
“We have made sure the boys are happy on and off the field,” Spence explained. “The boys are not afraid to make mistakes, but rather they are comfortable expressing themselves and showcasing the skills they have.”
Their approach has not been a top-down situation and the coaching staff have included input from the team, captained by Matt Hendry. He has led the team exceptionally well and was one of Selborne’s top batters in the preliminary rounds.
At the Grey High Festival earlier this year he scored a magnificent century against Potch Volkies in a declaration format fixture. As one of the top run-scorers in the Eastern Cape leg of the Switch Schools SA20, Hendry, along with Josh Wilkie and Cian O’Niel, has been one of the primary drivers of Selborne’s batting.
Selborne’s bowlers to watch are Avethandwa Manyongo, Lwando Gaza and Daniel Tarr.
Their challenge begins on Wednesday with a tough assignment against Pretoria side Affies, followed by an afternoon clash with Eastern Cape rivals Graeme College. On Thursday Selborne take on Jeppe before the finals move into the playoff stages.
Meanwhile, Graeme College warmed up for the Switch Schools competition with a resounding win over Hudson Park in their clash in East London at the weekend.
Following a good win over the Old Graemians on Friday on their annual reunion weekend, the Makhanda team showed great control against Hudson as Zuko Pontshi led the way with a brilliant 129 as they finished with a daunting total of 314/9 declared. Skipper Andrew Muir contributed a robust 48 not out and Keagan Jattiem’s 45 also kept the Hudson attack under pressure.
In response, the Hudson side were dismissed for just 68 as Luphelo Mdyesha (5/13) tore through the batting line-up. Caleb Jattiem added to the Graemians’ success with 2/14 as they won by 249 runs.
Graeme will now join Selborne College and girls’ team Nomandi at the Switch Schools finals in Pretoria.
SuperSportschools.com
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